Winter Colds & Chills Stolen Away by the Robbers Clan

Winter is finally upon us here in New Jersey. After celebrating Yule and Christmas in short sleeves and sandals with temps in the mid 60's, the iciness of the season has hit home. With all of the temperature shifts and craziness of shopping, parties, dinners, and families, it's not surprising that many people find themselves fighting off colds.

There are certainly many things that can be done to help keep the nasty little buggies at bay. Washing your hands, obviously. Try desperately not to touch your face. Making sure to eat healthy and drink lots of fluids is extremely important. It's also imperative to make sure to clean the air and frequently touched surfaces. Viruses and bacteria can linger and wait until transferred to a new recipient - like you!

One of my favorites for winter is our Oil of the Robber Clan.  Not only is it wonderfully aromatic, the essential oil blend is created specifically to fight off the invisible fiends. There are many ways this concentrated blend can be used:

• Place a few drops in a diffuser to purify and cleanse the air.
  
• Fill a small spray bottle with white vinegar. Add 10 or so drops of Robbers oil. Shake well and use to clean and disinfect counters, sinks, doorknobs, etc.
  
• Put a quarter teaspoon in the dishwasher to help sanitize dishes.

The spiciness of clove essential oil encourages the immune system.  Red Thyme essential oil is a powerhouse anti-septic and disinfectant. Lavender is renown for it's  anti-bacterial properties. Lemon is - well lemon! Add in Rosemary, Lemongrass and several other essential oils and you've got a true legend - and an amazing way to scare away winter colds.

Let Your Inner Spirit Out - It's As Young as You Feel Day

Welcome to As Young As You Feel Day!

Let's face it, there are days when that statement means you're about 112. But there are other days... oh, those wonderful other days.

Those are the days when you're tempted to do a cartwheel. It's the day when you want to pull out that favorite peasant top, or dig out that jean jacket and wear it in public. The days that you want to disco or dance your little heart out. The days your heart and spirit just zoom. Today it that day.

Go do those things that make you feel young! It will make your spirit soar!

A Howl from Our Heart

Each month this year, we are donating a portion of our proceeds to different charities. In January, we Rivers Edge Horse Sanctuary. It's a wonderful place that has been under a lot of stress due to flooding and storms.



In February, we were sharing with Lakota Wolf Preserve. What an amazing place this is. Jim and Becky care for all the wolves and animals with respect, love, and appreciation. The enclosures are well maintained and spacious for the packs and foxes and other animals. If you want to learn about wolves, their habits and environments, this is the place to go. You can just feel the affinity they all have for each other.

We were going to switch in March, but we decided to stay with Lakota for another month. This winter has been particularly brutal with the freezing cold weather. They haven't been able to have the tours they usually do, which is their form of income. Becky has also found out that she has colon cancer. They are the only two that maintain the preserve, so it's become a particularly difficult time for them. That's why we decided to extend our month of giving through March.

How can you help? Well you can certainly go to their website and make a donation. You can also comment, like, share and order from Celtic Chairde! Whether it's here on our blog, or our Facebook or Twitter page, every interaction will help add to the kitty for the wolves. 

March may have come in like a lion, and we may be hoping that it goes our like a lamb, but let's make sure it goes to the wolves at Lakota Wolf Preserve.

It All Starts With Once Upon a Time.....

and suddenly you are whisked away to a magical, mystical place and time. Myths, legends, and fables not only teach us, they enchant us in a way that makes us remember them throughout our years. They are to be celebrated and shared. Why not do it now, because today is

Tell a Fairy Tale Day. 

I have always loved fairy tales. My father would read stories to me from Grimm, Aesop, and Hans Christian Anderson. It's always delightful to see movies made from treasured stories, but there is a different type of magic in just telling the story.

Telling a tale takes time, and often practice. But you can do it. I've come up with a few Fairy tales myself - including ones for our Queen of the Pirate Sea Waters and Oil of the Robber Clan. All great fairy tales take a first telling, when the idea starts. After a  few more tellings, characters will begin to take form and start to take on the challenge of their tale. Who knows, you may come up with the next Peter Rabbit or Peter Pan. 

If you aren't comfortable enough to just tell a story yet, try reading some of the classics. You may be surprised at the darkness in Grimm's Tales - surprised and probably delighted. Hans Christian Anderson tales have a sweetness, and sometimes sadness, who's lessons apply to life in any time. There's Aesop, Baum, and even modern fairy tales like Stardust, the Never Ending Story, and of course The Princess Bride. (If you've never read the book The Princess Bride, treat yourself. It is wonderful!)

Let the Craft Faire season begin!

We're getting an early start this year! We're delighted to be a part of the first ever Valenzano Craft Faire and Wine Tasting. Held in the beautiful Grand Ballroom at the vineyards property in Shamong, it's bound to be a day to warm your heart. Come by and visit and get some of those wonderful skin care goodies your skin is craving this time of year.

Mention this post and you'll get a free gift!

Light and Fluffy Shave Foam

My son has always been a connoisseur when it comes to shaving. He liked straight edge razors when he was in his teens. He had soap mugs and shave brushes in all shapes and sizes. So when he asked me if I could make him a shaving cream, I had to jump at the chance.

It took some experimenting, and with that were some disasters. Some were way too oily. Way, way to oily. And there were others that had no foam at all, or felt too dry. We went through a lot of combinations - but we came up with a winner.  The final version  includes pure Castile's soap blended with clarifying hydrosols, skin refreshing essential oils, and carrier oils. JP's Shaving Foam is light and fluffy. It puts a light thin, protective coat on your skin with just a fine foam. It's doesn't even need to be washed off after your done shaving. Just a light rub in and you're good to go.

JP's Shaving Foam is great for men and women. The scent is very light and fresh. My husband, who gets 5 o'clock shadow at noon, loves this. I love it as well. It even feels nice using it under my arms. 

Next up, finding the right combination for a shave butter. 

And if you have any suggestions for products, just let us know. That's how we come up with the best products!

Protect That Fabulous Face

Winter is upon us - at least in a good portion of the country. Today there's a wonderfully fluffy snow storm going on. Looks so pretty, feels so icy when heading out to shovel or play. We all know the drill - bundle up, dress in layers, keep your hands and feet dry. If we're smart, we remember the lip balm to protect our delicate lips from moisture loss. Do we remember, though, to change up our face and skin moisturizers?


Here's a few tips to keep your skin safe and glowing throughout the winter:

• Keep it dry. Freezing temperatures will ice up moisture on your face, damaging and drying your skin. 
• But keep it moist...urized. Wear a moisturizer that's slightly heavier than you might normally, especially if you're going to be outside for any extended period of time. This will provide a buffer against the wind and cold. Our lotion bars are perfect for this kind of weather. They might be too heavy for your face, though. Try the Jazzy Lavender Body Butter. Thick, but whippy and refreshing. Whatever your choice, cover up before you go out. Then clean and remoisturize when you come in,
• When you wash your skin, use warm water, not hot. Hot water will actually dry your skin. I know, hot sounds lovely, but it will really damage more than help.
• Remember to exfoliate. You can use our sugar scrubs for your body, and our Honey Pumpkin Face Mask is wonderful for your face. It removes dead skin cells and opens up your skin to accepting good moisture.

Don't be afraid to get out there and ski, play or just walk the dog. But do it right and it will be easy to slip right into spring.

From the Earth to Arbor - Help Us Give the Gift of Trees

Spring! Time for flowers and trees and grass and waking up from the chill and darkness of winter. It's the perfect time to celebrate home base.

Monday was Earth Day. Hopefully, we find time to celebrate and take care of this big spinning ball we ride everyday. But Earth Day helps us bring the focus to areas of concern and still needed care.There are events and festivals all week where you can find out about local programs that focus on keeping the environment healthy, healing and strong.


To round out the week - we celebrate National Arbor Day. I love trees. And they must love us. They filter water and the air, provide food and shelter, prevent erosion, and look beautiful. You can find out about the history of Arbor Day (over 100 years of tree planting!) at the National Arbor Day Foundation site. 


We want in on all this celebrating! So, until the end of April, we will donate a tree to the National Arbor Day Foundation for every new Like on Facebook, new email subscriber, and each order we receive. We know we may not be able to replant a whole forest, but hopefully we can help get a nice patch of planted to be there for future nature lovers.

Love Scrubs? We Need Your Help!

Do you love sugar scrubs? I sure do. I love the invigorating exfoliation and the fabulous softness of my skin after a shower. Oh - and the fragrance. It just fills the shower and lifts your spirits.

We make a wide range of sugar scrubs and a few salt scrubs. There are even a few we carry seasonally. You can see our current line here. But in the quiet of a chilly February, I look for other things to create. And we've got four new options in the sugar pot now.

Green Tea Sugar Scrub - Honey infused with green tea blends with rich butters and oils and three types of sugars. Refreshing and motivating.
Kelly's Garden Sugar Scrub - Heady jasmine and gardenia, neroli and davana bring you to a beautiful summers garden at twilight
Cococoffee Sugar Scrub - Two test versions - wake up to that perfect morning scent of fresh coffee while enriching your skin with cocoa butter.
Pine Barrens Breeze Sugar and Salt Scrub - Pine infused honey and safflower oil, peppermint infused honey, a touch of Celtic sea salt and your on a walk through the pines.

Now - these scrubs are all in the first draft stage. What we need are a few volunteers to help us out. Would you like to help us test out new scrubs? Go over to our Facebook page. Like our page and leave a comment saying - I'm in!  We'll send you some samples and ask that you send us your feedback when you've had a chance to try them.

Honey of a Time... With Infused Honey

It's been a hectic past few months. Between Super Storm Sandy clean up and the Holiday season, life has seemed to pass by in a blur. Now that we've welcomed in 2013, I've had a little time to catch up on some of my herbal chores. Of course these aren't really chores at all. They are the favored tasks that you reward yourself with when all the rest has been done. What have I been doing? Oh, how sweet a task it is. I've been decanting and setting up my herbal infused honeys.

The sweetness and health benefits of honey are well documented. Whether you're using honey in your skin care, food or for your health, you can give it a boost with some herbal input. And it is so very, very easy.

Ginger swimming in honey.

What You'll Need:

• Clean mason jar/s
• Honey (my favorite is Herberstville Honey. Try to use local honey to aid with allergy immunity building)
• Your favorite fresh or dried herbs. Personally, I prefer using dried, except for roses. Less chance of moisture getting into the honey and causing problems such as mold or fermentation. Of course, fermentation could lead to an interesting mead, but that's another story for another day.

Make sure your mason jar is clean. Run it through the dishwasher or submerge in water and boil for a few minutes. Make sure the jar is thoroughly dried before using.

Loosely fill the jar to about two thirds full with your favorite herb, spice or combination.

Vanilla beans soaking in honey.

Pour the honey into the jar to cover the herbs. Stir with a knife or something long to remove all the air pockets. Top off with some more honey.

Cover tightly and put in a sunny windowsill or on a shelf you check fairly often.

Every few days turn the jar over to circulate the honey and herbs. Let the jar sit for at least two weeks or longer. The longer it sits, the stronger the infusion will be.

I just decanted a cinnamon infused honey that had been steeping for almost a year. I will admit that I only flip or check the jars every month or so when I'm letting it set up for that long a time.  It's divine! So extraordinarily yummy on waffles.

Here are some herb or spice combinations to try:

Honey dripping from vanilla sooo yummy!

• Rose petals. You can use fresh or dried petals (untreated, naturally). If you use fresh petals you don't even have to strain - just use eat the petals like a jam.
• Lavender
• Cinnamon - use just the sticks. Powder is OK, but it can make it gritty.
• Vanilla
• Chai - use cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, a few black peppercorns, a vanilla bean, cloves, allspice, star anise, or other chai flavoring that you like
• Peppermint
• Thyme
• Lemon Herbs - I like to combine lemon thyme, lemon balm, and lemon verbena
• Orange or lemon - use the peels cleaned of pith
• Rosemary
• Hot peppers - this is great in barbecue sauce or as a glaze for ribs or ham
• Ginger
• Calendula petals
• Elderberries - dried make a wonderful cough syrup

Use your imagination! These honeys are great to use in cooking or in teas, or straight off the spoon!

Of course, honey's not just great for your insides - it's fabulous for your outsides. I like using Calendula honey straight on cuts and scraps. We use ginger infused honey in our Orange Ginger Sugar Scrub.  Rose infused is used in our Rose n' Dew Sugar Scrub and the Rose 'n' Dew Face Spritz.

And if you want to ease away the stress of the past few months, try some Lavender honey in your tea - or in your bath!

Have fun making infused honeys. Let me know what herbal combinations you're trying, and I'll keep you posted of mine.

Join us at the Beach Plum Festival this Sunday!

It's one of the first events we book every year. We hope you'll join us at this wonderful, fun and educational event to close out the summer.

Annual Beach Plum Festival

 Sunday, September 9, 2012

9 am to 4 pm

Island Beach State Park

Just past Seaside Heights, NJ

There's so much to do:

Beach Plum Picking

Beach Plum Ice Cream

Kayak tours

Educational displays

Raffles

Food

Music

The Beach

Crafters.... and us!

And if you're looking for something to do on Saturday, stop by the Smithville Art Walk to see the works of my amazingly talented other daughter, Maggie Moran.

It's going to be a great weekend! Hope to see you at the Beach... Plum Festival that is.

Play with Your Food - Herbal Sugars

I have an infusion fascination. I admit it. I love taking all those lovely herbs and flowers from my garden and infusing them into a multitude of other things to make intriguing new flavors.

If you saw my apothecarium right now, you'd see 8 or 9 different flavored sugars setting up. There's also about 12 honeys, 10 vinegars, a few salts and many herbal alcohol based extracts waiting for the herbal and fruity goodness to be fully released.

I've talked about herbal sugars before. The simplicity of it makes me wonder why everyone doesn't have some of these herbal sweets in their cabinets at home.

As a quick refresher:
You'll need:

• 1 large, extremely well cleaned dry glass jar with a lid. Quart size
• About 1 cup (loosely packed) of your herb of choice - see some suggestions below.
• Sugar to fill your jar.

1. I prefer to use dried herbs. They infuse their flavor and fragrance without making the sugar clumpy. You can use fresh, but make sure they are rinsed off and then thoroughly dried.
2. Lightly crush the herbs to help release some of the oils.
3. Put about 1/2 inch worth of sugar in the jar.
4. Place a layer of herbs on top of the sugar.
5. Continue layering until you reach within 1/2 inch of the top of the jar.
6. Seal the jar tightly.
7. Let this sit on a shelf for at least two weeks, but the longer you let it sit, the stronger the flavor.

I have a jar of vanilla sugar that's been sitting on the shelf for a few years. Whenever I want to add a vanilla flavor to something, I sift out the measure of sugar that I need. Then I add more sugar to the jar and shake it up well. It smells fabulous when I open the jar!

The best herbs to use for infused sugars are once with a strong fragrance. Here are some of my favorites and how I use them.

Lemon Herb - dried lemon peels, lemon verbena, and lemon balm
Vanilla - just vanilla beans
Cinnamon - several crushed cinnamon sticks
Rose Geranium - Lots of lovely rose geranium leaves
Bee Balm (Monarda didyma, Bergamot, Oswego Tea) - flower heads as well as leaves
Chai Blend - Cinnamon sticks, cloves, a nutmeg, small piece of vanilla bean, a few pepper corns, some holy basil leaves and cardamom pods
Mint - mint leaves
Lime - dried lime peels and lime scented geranium
 
The uses for these delectable sugars are limitless. I like to use all of them when I'm baking. The vanilla or chai make great angel food cake. Blend the Rose Geranium with Strawberry lemonade for a truly refreshing summer treat. There are some wonderful Sorbet recipes at The Herb Companion site - use any of these sugars to bring a different twist to these frozen concoctions. Sprinkle a little Bee Balm sugar on a fruit salad and toss lightly to add some sweet pizazz. I LOVE using the Cinnamon sugar on French Toast, or when I make glazed carrots. I've used the Lime sugar when making a blueberry crumble.


If you have flavored sugars set up, whenever you're creating in the kitchen you can use them instead of regular sugar to add that little something extra to you dish. Have fun with a recipe and play with your food!


Of course, we use them all them time in our sugar scrubs, too.

Rain or Shine - there will be Wine!

Let the Memorial Day festivities begin as we unofficially start summer! 

Join us this weekend at

The Garden State Wine Growers

Wine & Blues Festival

Natirar Park, Peapack-Gladstone, Somerset NJ

Saturday & Sunday, May 26  & 27, 11:30 to 5

Rain date Monday May 28

$25 admission includes wine glass and all the wine sampling you'd like.  Under 21 is free.

Free if you are not sampling wines. Cash only if purchasing tickets at the admission tent.

Come on out and enjoy fabulous music in the amazing Natirar Park. 

Kick back with some wine from one of the 25 New Jersey vineyards present, grab something to eat, do a little shopping at the fine vendors 

(like Celtic Chairde Creations!).

 It's a great way to kick off summer with out stressing.

Mention this blog post while shopping at our booth, and receive a free lip balm!

I've got good news, and...

We're coming up on our first event of the season, which is very exciting and I'll share more news on that within the next few days. But in the mean time, I wanted to let everyone know that we've got some good news ... and some bad news.

The bad news is that we have to adjust some of our prices, particularly on our body butters. Supply costs have risen tremendously over the past few years. We've maintained our prices as best we can, but it just isn't feasible any more.

The good news is that we've added a 4 ounce size to our body butters! This special size is only available on our website. It's perfect for those who love to indulge their whole body in these moisturizing and wonderfully decadent butters.

We're going to continue to add some new items over the next month or so. And we will continue to give you exciting, skin loving, magically inspired and wonderful products with reasonable prices.

Spring Specials for a Special Spring

This has been a very warm spring - heck a very warm winter! All this lovely weather in the east is putting us in mind of getting out to the garden and celebrate this special spring. Well, we've decided that we want to celebrate as well. To do that, we're offering you some great specials for the month of March.


For the rest of the month of March, there's free shipping! Why not take advantage of that with one of our special offer gift sets.

Gardeners Gift Pack

The greening of the trees and plants calls us out to the garden. There's nothing as soothing as digging down in the dirt or smelling freshly blooming flowers. But it takes it's toll on your skin. This gift pack helps keep your skin at its natural best.

• 1 oz Gardeners Salve - great for those nick's, scratches and work worn hands.
• .75 oz Muscle Rub - Gardening puts your muscles to some extra work. This salve is powered with Arnica and capsicum from hot peppers. Soothes muscles and smells fabulous. Choose from 4 scents.
• 8 oz Dó Gréine Spray - Don't let the spring sun fool you - you can still get burned. This all natural spray ease the pain of burns (sun or otherwise) as well as itchiness and bug bites. Even helps repel some bugs (does not work well for gnats though).
• Sweetest Kisses Lip Balm - Honey makes this lip balm extra soothing and softening for wind and sun damaged lips.

Sale Price: $21.00

(If purchased separately - $23.50)

The gift pack comes in a nice little spring bucket and gets you ready to get out and play in the dirt. Perfect for a nice gift or for yourself. Our newsletter also has a Mela Tae gift set special. You don't get our emailed newsletter? You can sign up for it in the box in the right column here. Or you can see it in our archive here.

Enjoy!

From now through the end of the year - Free Shipping!

We want to thank all of you for your inspiration and encouragement throughout the year.  It's your enthusiasm for our products that keep us going when we're tuckered out.

We'd like to thank you for that support. So, from now through the end of the year, we're offering free shipping on all orders within the US. Just order on our website or email us your request.

Important! If you would like your order by Christmas, those orders must be placed by December 21st to guarantee arrival for the big day.

It is the summer of the soul in December,

Yes when you do your best for love, it feels like Christmas

The Ghost of Christmas Present, Muppet Christmas Carol

Getting a Little Jolly

The Halloween pumpkins are buy being roasted. There's a definite nip in the air. It's already November!? Must be time for 

27th Annual Jolly Mouse Craft Fair 

10 am to 4 pm 

Lloyd Road School, Aberdeen 

All proceeds from this Holiday kick off event benefit the H.A.M. (Hazlet, Aberdeen, Matawan, Therapeutic Recreation Program). 

There will be over 106 crafters both inside and outside the school. We'll be in the gym with our full array of skin care products: lotion bars, body butters, lip balms, Mela Taes, Dream Mists, toners and a grand assortment of other goodies to get you in the spirit of the season. 

 

Pirates and Oysters and Guinness - Oh my!

Last weekend turned into a bit of a muddled mess. Iffy weather forecasts and a touch of nasty cold kept our scheduled events from proceeding as planned. BUT this weekend we shall prevail! So join us, won't you, for a weekend of pirates, oysters, Guinness, music, food and lots of fun!

Toms River Pirate Festival
Saturday, October 1
10 am to 5 pm
415 Washington Street, Toms River, NJ
Christ Episcopal Church
$10 for adults, $5 for under 18 and Seniors, under 3 is free
Live pirate music and shows all day. Imaginative and magical crafters and food vendors. This is such a fun event for children of all ages. Feel free to come in costume - although not required. Check out they're website for more details and the days schedule.

But wait... there's more...

Rescheduled from last week - the one and only

Red Bank Guinness and Oyster Festival
Sunday, October 2
Noon to 7 pm
White Street Parking Lot, Red Bank, NJ
$5 donation suggested for all those over 13
Live music from 2 stages all day, savory and creative food from over 20 restaurants, beer, intriguing information booths, vendors with fascinating wares (including yours truly). and did I mention beer.
Come celebrate the season with us!

The Guinness Oyster Festival is a fundraiser for the Jane H. Booker Cancer Center at
Riverview Medical Center, The Cancer Institute of NJ Foundation and Red Bank River Center.

Mention this post or one of our Facebook posts when you come to our booth at the festival and we'll present you with a token of our esteem and thanks.

Now - get to the festivals me hearties!

Join us at the River Walk Wine Festival!

Summer, music and wine in a beautiful park along the water. What more could you look for to have a great weekend? Come by and visit us this weekend at:

River Walk Wine Festival
Cooper River Park, Pennsauken NJ

Saturday August 6, 2011 (12:00 pm – 5:00 pm)
Sunday August 7, 2011 (12:00 pm – 5:00 pm)
Admission Tent open each day 11:30 am

$25 per person if you'll be sampling wine. If you're not sampling, it's free!

Musical Entertainment
Saturday - Matt Wade Band
Sunday - The Funktion

There will be hundreds of wines to sample, music to dance to, crafts and vendors to shop with, and lots of food. No matter what the weather will be, it'll be a wonderful time. (Fingers crossed for good weather though!)

Skeeters and Sunburn and Gnats - Oh Ick!

Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. ~ Russel Baker

I'm probably like many of you. I anxiously await the arrival of summer. It's an outdoor season to enjoy the sunlight, dig in the garden, play at the beach, barbeque and all those lovely outdoor fairs, festivals, and outdoor activities. In winter, summer is such a lovely vision on our mind. In reality - well, it's still lovely but it's sweatier and buggier and so much more fickle. Our visions forget things like 90+ degrees with humidity and attack mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes are one of the worst annoyances of summer. They carry disease and the bites itch like all get out.

There are a few things you can do to help alleviate the mosquito mayhem:

• Make sure you've clear out all the standing water in your yard. Puddles, birdbaths, pots, watering cans, garden decor, rain barrels, around the sprinkler or faucet area - go on a treasure hunt to find those wet spots. If the water stands idle for more than a day or two, it can become home to a whole herd of mosquitoes. And it doesn't take much either. Just a few tablespoons worth of water sitting for more than 3 or 4 days makes a perfect nursery for mosquito larvae.
• Pick the best time to go outside. Mosquitoes seem to love the twilight (as do many people).
• Insect repellents with DEET work the best when your going to be exposed for an extended period of time. Our Dó Gréine Spray also works well for mosquitoes. It contains some Neem which really chases those little buggers away.
• Citronella candles are tricky. Mosquitoes stay away from the scent of citronella, but they are attracted to heat, movement and carbon dioxide. But essential oils like citronella, lemon eucalyptus and geranium work well, too.

The worst is when you get a mosquito bite on top of a sunburn. Super OW! Our Dó Gréine Spray is designed to help alleviate the pain of sunburn and to start the healing. It will also help stop the itchiness of the bite thanks to a base of skin loving apple cider vinegar. Although it does work fairly well for keeping mosquitoes away, it's not quite as good at keeping away gnats.

Gnats, No-see-ums, vinegar flies, midgies - these are just some of those pesky little flying things that are sooo annoying and frustrating in the summer. Some bite, some don't, almost all swarm and make you crazy. Although I love our Dó Gréine Spray for so many things, it's not always a good repellent for certain gnats because they are attracted to vinegar.

These minute mayhem monsters are attracted to rotting places - compost, old rotting fruits and vegetables, over watered pots, etc. So while you're hunting around for wet spots for mosquitoes, check the rotty places for gnat type bug breeding grounds. Let these areas dry out well. I'm not a big proponent of pesticides. Instead, try sprinkling a little Neem oil in the area.

With a little common sense and some search and destroy missions, you should be able to like your summer more, and suffer a little less.